Discovery of a Tomb
Clip: 8/28/2024 | 1m 37sVideo has Closed Captions
In 1992, the discovery of a tomb leads to claims that the body buried there is King Odysseus.
Is King Odysseus, the Trojan-horse-building genius in Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, merely a figure of ancient fiction — or was he a flesh-and-blood man? In 1991, Makis Metaxas, a local politician on the Greek island of Kefalonia, discovers a 3000-year-old Mycenaean tomb. However, the discovery is soon embroiled in controversy, and Makis embarks on his own odyssey to convince the world he is right.
Discovery of a Tomb
Clip: 8/28/2024 | 1m 37sVideo has Closed Captions
Is King Odysseus, the Trojan-horse-building genius in Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, merely a figure of ancient fiction — or was he a flesh-and-blood man? In 1991, Makis Metaxas, a local politician on the Greek island of Kefalonia, discovers a 3000-year-old Mycenaean tomb. However, the discovery is soon embroiled in controversy, and Makis embarks on his own odyssey to convince the world he is right.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipThe Homeric epics, we think of them as myth but they are also history.
The main question with the Odyssey has always been Ithaca.
Nothing was ever found in Ithaca.
Hey, Ismini!
I remember asking him, "Could this be Odysseus's tomb?"
It is an unbelievable kaleidoscope that gets us down to this one tiny image and, in this image, that is Odysseus.
It's a dog grappling with a fawn.
If that's real, that would be unique.
There are objects in this world, but history ignores them.
People start to threaten us.
Homeric Ithaca is where it is, in Ithaca.
Don't start to change this!
But it's there!
How can you ignore it?
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The 1992 excavation of the tomb Makis Metaxas found gives up an incredible piece of evidence. (2m 36s)
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Ismini Milliaresis describes the archeological dig that took place on her family's land on Kefalonia (2m 25s)
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Makis Metaxas believes Odysseus' kingdom was in his hometown on the island of Kefalonia. (2m 37s)
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An ancient tomb might prove that the hero of Homer’s Odyssey really existed. (30s)
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Homer calls Odysseus “King of the Ithacans.” But there are no Mycenaean ruins on modern-day Ithaki. (1m 55s)
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